I lost track of when she was born, sorry! So, at that age, then, wearing the baby wouldn't solve the problem that is causing the fussing so it becomes a frustrating guessing game that lissa described. Ugh...at least the phases at this age are short. :)

I just want to throw out there that babywearing doesn't have to be an all day thing...the few times I've done it have only been for an hour or so at a time, just enough to get DD to take a good nap when she otherwise refuses to.

Also, I know nothing about the ergo carrier so take this with a grain of salt, but I've heard that "crotch dangle" carriers aren't the best for wee infants whose hips are still developing...I'm foggy on the details but that's why I opted for a wrap. I have the moby and so far love it. I was afraid it would be hard to learn but it really is quite easy.

right, the Ergo has the baby facing towards the parent's chest, like you would snuggle them if you were using your hands. Then when baby is much older you can also wear the baby on your back with the ergo, like a backpack carrier, so those parents who like them really like how long you can use it.

All of which is in theory, since some babies grow to be humungous and nobody would want to wear them very long, and some people have bad backs, etc. and it's hard to wear a baby that isn't a newborn.

My sister (her kids are now 8 and 10 yrs old) used a baby bjorn (horrors!) when her kids were small and loved it for times when you wanted to cook dinner but baby wanted to be held, or folding laundry, or putting dishes away. You can't cook super hot foods, or carry the big pasta pot with boiling water, when wearing the baby but you can make salad, prepare stuff, set the table, etc.

(you laugh thinking that's obvious, but she had the HUGE pasta pot in her hands when pasta was done and had taken one step to the sink when she realized what the possibilities were to the large object in front of her!)

This morning my DH was changing DD and she literally projectile pooped in the middle of it. It got all over DH's shirt, hands, the changing table pad, and the wall! It was as hilarious as it was disgusting!

My baby also ends up with his hands or arms sticking out when he is swaddled. But he seems comfortable.

Last night I went out for the first time with my girlfriends. DS is 5 weeks. DH was with him and this morning he told me that DS cried for 2.5 hours straight after I left. DH didnt call or tell me what was going on. Then today and for the past couple of days (but not everytime) he would nurse for 3 or 4 minutes then start crying. I would burp him (somethimes he would burp sometimes no burp) and then would get so upset he couldnt nurse anymore. So every hour I offered to nurse him. He gets one BM bottle in the early morning and since I had a couple of beers last night I gave him a bottle when I got home and DH gave him one in the early morning. He finally took a 3 hour nap this evening. He woke up and nursed or 10 minutes on the first side then just like a minute or 3 on the other side and then let go and the started crying. Once I offered him his paci he calmed right down and went back to sleep! Im not sure if he wants the bottle because its easier to get the milk, if he might have reflux or if he is gassy! Ahhhh..

It's so hard to know what is going on with him sometimes. I feel so bad for him when his little chin is quivering because he is crying so hard. And I think he is starting to get tears, which breaks my heart even more!

Just a quick, pretty funny story: This morning my DH was changing DD and she literally projectile pooped in the middle of it. It got all over DH's shirt, hands, the changing table pad, and the wall! It was as hilarious as it was disgusting!Posted by lizinboston

Liz, I don't know if it's a phase, but both mine went through a period where they enjoyed, "open air pooping." Definitely one of my least favorite things!! ;)

For the first time DS totally embarassed me this weekend. I mean, hide under a rock embarassment. He's recently learned about ninja's at day care. But he had no idea what they were really, until DS saw a ninja toy at a store Saturday. DS asked DH what it was and he explained it was a ninja and we don't play with it. I was in a different part of the store and didn't hear this. Fast forward a few hours and we are in Macy's looking at the kids clothes and a woman in a burka was there too. Well, didn't DS say very loudly "Mommy, look it's a Ninja! Mommy, a NINJA." The woman was that awkward distance away that she might not have heard DS, so to go up to hear and say "sorry my son just called you a ninja" would have been weird. A quick stern "She's not a ninja, and we don't ever say that about people dressed like that..." convo ensued. What I wanted to say: "If you don't listen to Mommy and Daddy that ninja is going to come get you."

I have a question about sleeping arrangements. DH and I put DD in her crib last week and we sleep in our room. Our rooms are right next to each other, so we can hear her. I was reading Happiest Baby and it says that you should have your baby sleep in your room for the first 4 months to reduce the chance of SIDS.

DD has been doing great in her crib, sleeps about 3-4 hour stretches and the second she starts waking up, I hear her. So, what is all this about SIDS and sleeping in the parents bedroom? Now I am all paranoid.

Liz, my DS was in the crib at 2 weeks. I know there are all sorts of schools of thought on sleeping in the parents' room vs. baby's for various reasons, but I had never read anything that said they should sleep in parents room for 4 mos to reduce SIDS. I imagine it might be a recommendation, but there are also all sorts of recommendations about how you can reduce risk in the baby's own room/crib. I wouldn't stress - it sounds like you guys can easily hear her and have a lot of awareness of her needs.

Liz- We had a projectile p00p episode too when DS was little, it literally went 20 ft across the room and hit the door. We had DS sleep in his crib from day one, we never got a bassinet bc his room is right next to ours. I can still hear him crying to get up with his noise machine, and our AC on. I only used the monitor for a week before I realized every noise he made woke me up. I didn't have anything in the crib with him. We put the breathable bumpers in when he started rolling though. I'm not sure why having a child sleep in your room would reduce SIDS other than if they rolled over and were up against the side if you were in the room you could be quicker to move them? They say lots of things reduce sids now a days, a fan in the room to circulate air, no bumpers, blankets, sleeping on back... I say sounds like DD is ready to be in her crib full time!

AFM, just got back from Ireland last night! It was amazing. I can't believe I was thinking we might not go bc of DS. He did so much better than I expected. I think he adjusted to the time change better than us. Even on the first day with only 2hr of sleep on the plane the night before he was in better shape and didn't whine and complain (unlike the adults! :) ) We kept him up until we went to bed at 10 pm each night and he napped in the bus. He def. turned into a mama's boy though and would cry when I left the room to go to the bathroom or something. He also wanted to nurse a ton, which upped my supply. I am trying to cut out the morning nursing now and the trip didn't really help in that effort. Now that i know he is an excellent traveler I want to go on more trips before we decide to have #2!

He had a language explosion when we were there too and is repeating everything and will learn the name of something after hearing it just a few times. He was walking around saying sh*t the other day, time to censor the language.

Glad your trip was a success, July! Sounds fun. I can't wait to take a trip somewhere when DD is a little older. Next summer for sure.

Liz- I've heard that also. Even our pedi told us that in our room for at least the first month was best (though she didn't say why and I didn't ask- this was just before we left the hospital).

I've read that there's a few reasons why it's beneficial. One is that if the baby is in a room with others, there might be some slight noises (snoring, shifting around, getting up to use bathroom, etc) that prevent the baby from falling into a super deep sleep. I don't know why a deep sleep could be harmful, though. Also parents are closer, obviously, and might be more in tune to baby's breathing and if they might be in distress. The last thing I've read is that the baby might fall into a breathing rhythm as they can hear the parents breathing. Of course these are all unproven theories and since there is no known cause of SIDS it's all speculation.

I had every intention of putting DD right in her crib from day 1. However, even before we left the hospital I knew I wouldn't be able to do it. The night we came home DH went out and bought a PnP and set it up. She's been there ever since and now even as she's almost 2 months I'm still not ready for her to be in her crib at night. She's not a huge fan of it either, I try naps during the day and she usually only lasts about 10-15 minutes in there.

In other news, she slept from about 10:45pm to 5:30am last night! She's had a couple other times where she's slept from around 10:30-11 til 4ish but most nights still wakes up at 2 or 3 for a "snack". Small victories :)

Ajuly - I'm so glad your trip went well!!I had the same experience - DD was such a mama's girl the week after vacation. Cried every morning when I dropped her off at daycare, which she rarely does. And she also had a language explosion. There must be something about being around a group of adults all day instead of 2 year olds.

Liz - I think the recommendation to have the baby in the same room has to do with being able to hear if the baby is in distress. I also think when I have seen that recommendation it was in terms of it would be better to have the baby in the same room than in the same bed. (No offense to anyone, just repeating what I read!) I would be comfortable with a LO in the other room if I could hear and respond quickly via the monitor. DD went into her crib/room at 8 weeks.

It was an arbitrary goal that I set for myself early on, but actually wished I could put her back in our room after the fact. She wasn't a noisy sleeper, or if she was it didn't bother us. It's kind of good to know because if we have another one it'll need to sleep in our room longer since we only have 2 BRs.

My twins were in their cribs from day one. I (or the night nurse) slept in a twin bed with them in their room. I lasted about a week or two in there, but wasn't getting any sleep. So I moved back into my room. And some of the night nurses sat in the family room with the monitor watching late night TV.I think as long as baby is in a "naked crib" (no bumpers, quilts or toys) the risk is reallly low. If everyone is sleeping better in their own room - go with it.

Happiest Baby also recommends a pacifier and my kids wouldn't take them. Really - DD would immediately spit it out. We went through a horrible colic phase and she would not take a paci - so we sat in the glider and she cried every night for an hour or two. What works for some, doesn't always work for others.

Liz - I know lots of people whose kids went straight into cribs from the hospital. With DD1 I only lasted in the same room for 5-6 weeks before I was more interested in sleep that concerned about what every little grunt and snuffle was. If it is working for you all, don't rock the boat. With the twins, we had them in the room for much longer but only because all three kids sleep in the same room. However when DS was 4-5 months I couldn't handle it anymore and moved him in with his sisters. I did feel just a minor bit guilty about it but they needed to get use to his noisy self, right?

It is my understanding that for the most part there isn't much you can do to prevent SIDS. Try not to spend too much time stressing about it. I was always so happy once the babies moved out that age range.

Thank you, everyone. We actually had an appt. with the pedi today and she said there is no correlation between cribs and SIDS, and what we are doing is fine. We have nothing in there, no bumpers, blankets, stuffed animals.

On a another note, DD weighs 8.10!! I was so excited! She was 6.14 one month ago, yay! :)

KAM - just had to comment on your story. I can imagine how embarressing, but at the same time, kids are just so innocent they can say things that are just so outragious without having a clue. I giggled thinking how excited he must've been to see a real life Ninja! One would just hope that the person kids comment about also have (or had) toddlers so perhaps they understand. But cute story nonetheless.

Congrats Liz. DS was in his crib day 8 - 5 in the hospital and 2 in our room before into his crib he went!

Liz, I say do whatever will make you and your DH comfortable on the crib front. We had DD in our room at night for the first 3-4 months, partially for my comfort/mental health and partially because her room is one of the colder ones in the house, and those first few months were the real winter/cold months. Like with most parenting decisions, the more you analyze what other people are doing, the more of a wreck you become!!

AFM, in addition to cutting our mini-vacation at the Cape short for an extra BP check at the OB for me, we got to have a two-for at the doctor's yesterday: DD has an ear infection in her right ear. She'd started tugging it on Saturday and was super clingy Sunday and a grouch on Monday morning, so we brought her in to check. It's only her 3rd ear infection in 22 months, so we're doing pretty well, I think! She's already about 75% back to her normal self, and I am so proud of the way she's taking the meds this time. Didn't have to hide it in pouches or shove it down her screaming throat; a little fussing, but then she took it all, both yesterday and this morning!

She also LOVED the beach and the water, and counting the boats. We had a great time between being in the water, playing in the sand, and playing in her little kid pool in the backyard. I got some great photos, too...probably some of the last good ones before she goes from only child to big sister!

Logistics question... what are the thoughts of bringing LO to your dr's appt? I have an appt with my OBGYN (regular yearly appt) just after my normal daycare pickup time next week. It would be so easy to pick DD up a few mins early and scoot over to the office which is just down the street from daycare, but I am unsure about the general feelings of bringing one's child to a doctor's appt. She came with me to my 6 week PP visit... but I feel like that was different. Should I get DH to pick her up (several hours before he would usually leave work)? I've seen babies in the dr's office before, but usually tiny ones that are probably there with mom for her 6week visit. DD is still really good about playing with toys while in her carseat, so I don't think she would be in the way, and the nurses were actually kind of excited to see her at my first visit since they don't usually see them "on the outside" ... but it still seems weird for me to bring her. Is it just in my head?

Boston - I think it's completely fine... depending on the child. I also took DD to my 6 week pp appointment and my OB and nurses were so excited to see her. I tried taking her with me for a waxing once when she was a few weeks older and she would have no part in staying in the carseat, so I didn't try anything like that again.

KAM - I don't know how I missed your story. I have a very similar story that involves my nephew yelling out, "Auntie auntie are leprechauns real?!!" He's 14 and hasn't lived it down yet.

I'd call your dr's office to see what their policy is on people other than the patient being in the exam room. Mine has a policy of no kids. Period. No matter what the age. And they can't be left in the waiting room w/ someone else [they limit how many people can actually be at the office there per patient - yes they are that draconian]. I don't know how big your examining rooms are, but if you are fitting a bed, you, the doctor and an attendant/witness, you really aren't going to be able to fit a stroller or even a carrier. I'd make alternate arrangemetns unless they tell you its okay. I've seen people sent home when they've arrived w/ kids. [yes, really].

Wow Alf. I don't know on any level how your doctor's office can get away with such a policy. Draconian and perhaps discriminitory - i.e. you can't be seen for an urgent visit just because you have a child and can't find an immediate babysitter??The only time when I sort of get a "No Kids Policy" is at a RE office.

I am a physician and while it may not be ideal to have kids in the office, with a little patience and creativity, it is easy to get around.

They are on military bases. These ladies bring an entourage and there is literally no place to sit in the waiting room when they bring 3-4 kids, the spouses and other sundry relatives. It's a veritable hoarde. And its' free care, so you get what you pay for. Truly urgent care for military medicine is the ER and you can bring as many as you want there. For a routine [ie, you actually made an appt] visit, it's you in the exam room and that's it.

For my private doctor's offices, you can't bring kids either [eye dr and dentist]. For my newest dentist, I did see a baby in a carrier when I was there, but that was the first time I've seen it.